Conifer, CO – Yeti Cycles, a Golden, CO based mountain bike company and avid supporters of the Sam Schneider Legacy, recently designed and donated a custom mountain bike to spread cancer awareness and honor their former employee, Sam Schneider.
The Sam Schneider Legacy was established in memory of Sam Schneider, who passed away on February 16, 2021 after a 15-month battle with Ewing sarcoma, a rare form of pediatric bone cancer.
During his "gap year," Sam started working at Yeti Cycles, eager to work in the bike industry and improve his riding skills. After a year at Yeti, Sam entered college at Fort Lewis in Durango, CO. Near the end of his first semester he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma. Upon returning home for treatment at Children's Hospital, Sam's desire to get back on his bike kept him going. After completing 14 chemotherapy and 31 radiation treatments, Sam rang the bell on August 28, 2020, and was declared in remission.
Throughout Sam's battle, Yeti offered tremendous support to Sam and his family by accommodating his scheduling needs for treatment, so that he could remain an employee and keep doing what he loves. In addition, the team donated the funds needed for a GRIT Freedom Chair (a mix between a manual wheelchair and a mountain bike) for Sam, so he could get back out on the trails.
Unfortunately, while still at Yeti during his brief remission, Sam's cancer returned. He decided to make the most of his remaining days. He continued working at Yeti and began sketching out ideas of a yellow jersey with a yellow ribbon, representing sarcoma awareness. He took his jersey one step further, and began conversations about developing a video featuring world-class professional riders wearing his yellow jersey as they biked.
"Sometimes you don't get to choose your projects. They choose you," said Sarah Rawley, a former colleague from Yeti's marketing department, who produced Sam's video, titled Sam's Story. "When Sam shared his idea, I knew we would do whatever it would take to bring it into existence." Sam's Story has since gone on to win Best Outdoor Short Film at the 2022 Horsetooth International Film Festival.
Watch: Sam's Story
In addition to his jersey and video, Sam had a vision to design a Ewing sarcoma awareness mountain bike. Following his passing, Yeti went above and beyond once again! To honor Sam, Yeti built a custom bike modeled after Sam's yellow jersey. Additional components were generously donated by SRAM, Rockshox, Time Pedals, and Zipp wheels. The bike was raffled online with over 1000 participants, raising over $57,000 to support childhood cancer research.
Yeti presented the bike to Zachary Hartzell, a veteran who just returned from active duty, at Fresh Bikes in Roswell, GA, on March 1, 2023.
"Sam made an indelible mark on the crew here at Yeti Cycles. It's an honor for us to support the Sam Schneider Legacy and do all we can to show our love for Sam and his family," said Garrett Davis, Director of Marketing at Yeti Cycles. "When the idea to design a custom bike to benefit Sam's fund at CureSearch came up, the decision was easy and we got started. Working with Sam's family, we created a special edition Yeti Cycles SB160 using the colors and design elements of the Sam Schneider Legacy. The result was a one-of-a-kind bike to honor Sam and his legacy."
To date, Yeti has supported multiple awareness and fundraising events for the Sam Schneider Legacy, which supports childhood cancer research funded by CureSearch for Children's Cancer. CureSearch is a nonprofit that works to accelerate the development of new childhood cancer treatments by funding next-generation research. Through their research programs, CureSearch is funding transformational science that is quickly on the path to becoming new therapies for kids with cancer.
"We consider Yeti a part of our family for the unbelievable support and love they have and continue to provide us. Sam found a home there and we couldn't be more thankful that he did," said Kelly and Beth Schneider, Sam's parents.
Click here to make a gift to the Sam Schneider Legacy.
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About the Sam Schneider Legacy: In support of Sam's vision, we created The Sam Schneider Legacy. Our mission is to raise funds for Ewing sarcoma research, raise awareness for Ewing sarcoma and pediatric cancers, provide education for medical professionals, and tell Sam's story.
